El Salvador
La Avila
Caramel Vanilla, Lime, Grape
Regular price
$21.00
alt: 1402 MASL
Roast: light
farm: Las Mercedes
producer: Familia Ortiz Barriere
region: Usulutan Dept
process: washed
varietal: Bourbon - SL28
Finca Las Mercedes
Near Santiago de Maria in southeastern El Salvador, high in the mountains of Cerro El Tigre, lies the Las Mercedes family of farms. Finca Las Mercedes has been passed down through five generations of the Ortiz family. Through their 134-year history, they have obtained a reputation as one of the elite coffee producers in El Salvador.
In 2006 Finca Las Mercedes won First Place in El Salvador - Cup of Excellence, Lucia de Ortiz, who manages marketing and relationships for the farm, placed a call to Jeff Taylor, owner of PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, and they began a partnership that has lasted since that initial call in 2006. Approaching 15 years as buyers of this outstanding farms coffee, we are always excited by the innovation each year as we explore the diversity of varietals and processing with Lucia and her team.
FARM HISTORY
Mr. Adrian Ortiz, a Spanish immigrant married Miss Mercedes Rivera and settled down in Santiago de Maria, In the Usulután department of El Salvador. They started growing coffee in Las Mercedes the year of 1886. Mr. Adrian passed away in 1898 and until 1941 the farm was managed by Mrs. Mercedes Rivera de Ortiz.
In 1941, Mrs. Mercedes passed away, and the farm was handed over to Mr. Adrian Ortiz Jr. until his death in 1976. Then it was passed to Mr. Roberto Ortiz and Family, who run the farm to this day.
The farm has been owned through five generations of the Ortiz Family and has had many ups and downs, especially during the civil war of the 1980´s, a time during which this region suffered greatly.
The Ortiz family managed to preserve the farm in a healthy state. Nevertheless, in 2001 an earthquake affected the farm, destroying homes and buildings in the community as well the clay patios and other farm infrastructure.
In the years following the earthquake, the wet mill and the water tanks were rebuilt, and continuing expansion of the infrastructure of the farm was undertaken. A larger water collection tank referred to as "EL BIG" was built, as well as new clay patios and new ceramic tile ditches.
With the growing demand for new processes like naturals and honeys, the farm has built raised drying beds to facilitate a more consistent coffee drying process.
New roads were constructed into the mountainside for easier access to the different parts of the farm. Improving working conditions for the pickers and laborers who manage the farm.
QUALITY
Lucia Ortiz has shown her strong leadership and perseverance, discovering the potential of each section of the farm, separating the different areas into micro-lots and participate in the Cup of Excellence. In the early 2000’s there was the belief that coffee farms from the eastern part of the country, where Las Mercedes farm is located, produced only low-quality coffee. But in 2006
the farm was awarded FIRST PLACE in the CUP OF EXCELLENCE with a PRESIDENTIAL AWARD and a cupping score of 94-points. In 2009 were awarded 6th place in the CUP OF EXCELLENCE with a score of 89.4 points. The success in the COE proved to the country that Finca Las Mercedes was an exceptional farm. Now recognized as one of the premier coffee producers of quality coffee in all of El Salvador. A renovation has taken place on the farm over the past 5-years introducing new varietals and higher quality is still goal.
ABOUT LA AVILA
Micro-Lot La Avila is a section of the Las Mercedes farm that is located in between 5,000 feet of altitude and 6,250 feet of altitude. It is the highest coffee plot on the farm and oversees the San Miguel volcano and the pacific ocean creating this amazing, unique, microclimate cultivated with Bourbon variety and SL 28 varieties originally from Kenya.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Finca Las Mercedes and the Ortiz family continually give back to their community, having constructed and supplied a local School, Health Clinic, provide food for a nursing home, and support for the local soccer team. The Health Clinic currently serves more than 13 communities that surround Finca Las Mercedes. It is an invaluable part of the farm community and treasured by the neighbors and workers.
Workers at Las Mercedes receive educational talks on first aid, health and conservation of natural resources. These talks are given by experts in each area and directly impact the awareness and consciousness of the workers towards the community where they live and work.
The premium price we pay for the coffee is used by Finca Las Mercedes to provide medical care to its workers, as well as a quarterly reward of food supplies and clothing, as acknowledgment for their hard work and commitment to the farm.
Finca Las Mercedes is constantly making efforts to preserve natural wildlife by taking special care of the disposal of all by-products from the processing mill in order to avoid contamination to the local streams. And in compliance with the Rain Forrest Alliance certification, any chemicals and pesticides are carefully stored and managed by trained personnel, avoiding intoxications and contaminations.
SOCIAL IMPACT
" Las Mercedes has 134 years of existing and since the beginning the Ortiz family had always taken care of the community , it was in 2009 that the dream of Don Roberto on having a clinic at the farm came a reality at the beginning it was for the use of our workers and family, plus the two communities that surrounded us, but since our country had a necessity on health care we started helping communities around us so now we are helping 13 communities, having partners like Jeff Taylor that we have a Direct Trade relationship since 2007 and having a social conscious he saw the needs of the community and he decided to start paying a premium On the price since the first time he bought our coffee first he donate soccer balls, basketball balls and uniforms to support the schools teams, and when we started building the clinic he also gave a donation for the building of bathrooms at the clinic, and now he sees the need to support us in the clinic since the necessities are growing and we the Ortiz family at las Mercedes pay for everything we give free medicines and doctor’s appointments and if it’s need we refer them to the hospital, we also pay for surgeries that our workers need." - LUCIA DE ORTIZ
Permanent Employees: 93
Temporal employees in Harvest: 125 to 150 employees It will depend on the harvest.
Health Clinic:
Apart from our workers and families we help about 13 different communities that surrounds our farm you could say about 5,000 persons but we also work with the schools by having controls on the weight and growing of the students and we also fumigate the schools and health clinic to prevent Dengue and Sika.
Near Santiago de Maria in southeastern El Salvador, high in the mountains of Cerro El Tigre, lies the Las Mercedes family of farms. Finca Las Mercedes has been passed down through five generations of the Ortiz family. Through their 134-year history, they have obtained a reputation as one of the elite coffee producers in El Salvador.
In 2006 Finca Las Mercedes won First Place in El Salvador - Cup of Excellence, Lucia de Ortiz, who manages marketing and relationships for the farm, placed a call to Jeff Taylor, owner of PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, and they began a partnership that has lasted since that initial call in 2006. Approaching 15 years as buyers of this outstanding farms coffee, we are always excited by the innovation each year as we explore the diversity of varietals and processing with Lucia and her team.
FARM HISTORY
Mr. Adrian Ortiz, a Spanish immigrant married Miss Mercedes Rivera and settled down in Santiago de Maria, In the Usulután department of El Salvador. They started growing coffee in Las Mercedes the year of 1886. Mr. Adrian passed away in 1898 and until 1941 the farm was managed by Mrs. Mercedes Rivera de Ortiz.
In 1941, Mrs. Mercedes passed away, and the farm was handed over to Mr. Adrian Ortiz Jr. until his death in 1976. Then it was passed to Mr. Roberto Ortiz and Family, who run the farm to this day.
The farm has been owned through five generations of the Ortiz Family and has had many ups and downs, especially during the civil war of the 1980´s, a time during which this region suffered greatly.
The Ortiz family managed to preserve the farm in a healthy state. Nevertheless, in 2001 an earthquake affected the farm, destroying homes and buildings in the community as well the clay patios and other farm infrastructure.
In the years following the earthquake, the wet mill and the water tanks were rebuilt, and continuing expansion of the infrastructure of the farm was undertaken. A larger water collection tank referred to as "EL BIG" was built, as well as new clay patios and new ceramic tile ditches.
With the growing demand for new processes like naturals and honeys, the farm has built raised drying beds to facilitate a more consistent coffee drying process.
New roads were constructed into the mountainside for easier access to the different parts of the farm. Improving working conditions for the pickers and laborers who manage the farm.
QUALITY
Lucia Ortiz has shown her strong leadership and perseverance, discovering the potential of each section of the farm, separating the different areas into micro-lots and participate in the Cup of Excellence. In the early 2000’s there was the belief that coffee farms from the eastern part of the country, where Las Mercedes farm is located, produced only low-quality coffee. But in 2006
the farm was awarded FIRST PLACE in the CUP OF EXCELLENCE with a PRESIDENTIAL AWARD and a cupping score of 94-points. In 2009 were awarded 6th place in the CUP OF EXCELLENCE with a score of 89.4 points. The success in the COE proved to the country that Finca Las Mercedes was an exceptional farm. Now recognized as one of the premier coffee producers of quality coffee in all of El Salvador. A renovation has taken place on the farm over the past 5-years introducing new varietals and higher quality is still goal.
ABOUT LA AVILA
Micro-Lot La Avila is a section of the Las Mercedes farm that is located in between 5,000 feet of altitude and 6,250 feet of altitude. It is the highest coffee plot on the farm and oversees the San Miguel volcano and the pacific ocean creating this amazing, unique, microclimate cultivated with Bourbon variety and SL 28 varieties originally from Kenya.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Finca Las Mercedes and the Ortiz family continually give back to their community, having constructed and supplied a local School, Health Clinic, provide food for a nursing home, and support for the local soccer team. The Health Clinic currently serves more than 13 communities that surround Finca Las Mercedes. It is an invaluable part of the farm community and treasured by the neighbors and workers.
Workers at Las Mercedes receive educational talks on first aid, health and conservation of natural resources. These talks are given by experts in each area and directly impact the awareness and consciousness of the workers towards the community where they live and work.
The premium price we pay for the coffee is used by Finca Las Mercedes to provide medical care to its workers, as well as a quarterly reward of food supplies and clothing, as acknowledgment for their hard work and commitment to the farm.
Finca Las Mercedes is constantly making efforts to preserve natural wildlife by taking special care of the disposal of all by-products from the processing mill in order to avoid contamination to the local streams. And in compliance with the Rain Forrest Alliance certification, any chemicals and pesticides are carefully stored and managed by trained personnel, avoiding intoxications and contaminations.
SOCIAL IMPACT
" Las Mercedes has 134 years of existing and since the beginning the Ortiz family had always taken care of the community , it was in 2009 that the dream of Don Roberto on having a clinic at the farm came a reality at the beginning it was for the use of our workers and family, plus the two communities that surrounded us, but since our country had a necessity on health care we started helping communities around us so now we are helping 13 communities, having partners like Jeff Taylor that we have a Direct Trade relationship since 2007 and having a social conscious he saw the needs of the community and he decided to start paying a premium On the price since the first time he bought our coffee first he donate soccer balls, basketball balls and uniforms to support the schools teams, and when we started building the clinic he also gave a donation for the building of bathrooms at the clinic, and now he sees the need to support us in the clinic since the necessities are growing and we the Ortiz family at las Mercedes pay for everything we give free medicines and doctor’s appointments and if it’s need we refer them to the hospital, we also pay for surgeries that our workers need." - LUCIA DE ORTIZ
Permanent Employees: 93
Temporal employees in Harvest: 125 to 150 employees It will depend on the harvest.
Health Clinic:
Apart from our workers and families we help about 13 different communities that surrounds our farm you could say about 5,000 persons but we also work with the schools by having controls on the weight and growing of the students and we also fumigate the schools and health clinic to prevent Dengue and Sika.
